A Simple Exercise
by Pobodys Nerfekt
Summary: In which Blake teaches Ruby a couple of things about close combat and Ruby teaches Blake a thing or two about love. (Ladybug Week 2019 day 5 [there might be a couple of things off lorewise because I don't exactly know everything about battletech but I do know enough to know what I want])


"Ruby if there is anything I have learned in my time as a mechwarrior, it is that overconfidence is one of your biggest enemies, and before you say anything, yes I know that you have a mech that is designed to mitigate the chances of getting hit, but that doesn't mean you will never get hit."

Blake could practically feel the pout coming from the newer mechwarrior from the pilot's seat of the 30 ton Raven standing across from her. Like some light mechs, the Raven belonged to the "bird-like appearance with construction paper tier armor" family, designed as a recon unit that was not meant for direct engagements, although the twin medium lasers and SRM-6 would certainly give it a better chance than some of the other birds. This of course didn't stop Ruby who, being the engineering aficionado she is, modified her Raven to allow a more "hit and run" style approach by increasing the overall speed of her mech and the rate at which her weaponry recharged and reloaded. Sure the trade off for that was quicker overheat times, but such is life. The main thing that separated the Raven from other similar mechs was the ECM suite it was equipped with. The gear allowed Ruby's mech to participate in electronic warfare, jamming the electronics and guidance systems of enemy mechs, marking targets better than a sensor lock, and spotting equipment that would allow friendly mechs to more accurately throw an artillery barrage at the designated target. Of course in this situation the only thing that could help Ruby win is the speed of her mech and how those 30 tons get thrown around.

"Fiiiine I'll work with you, but I will warn you now that I am garbage when it comes to this stuff. Yang tried a whole bunch of times on getting my melee better and it rarely produced results. If it were literally anything else in the field of mech combat I would do great, but for some reason my melee was always off the mark." came Ruby's response.

"Well maybe she was going about it the wrong way. I know how she can get sometimes." said Blake, thinking back to her interactions with the blonde older sister of Ruby.

"Besides I don't like it when my baby gets damaged in a fight. I mean sure it means I get to work on her which is always fun, but that doesn't mean the causes of my enjoyment are always good." was Ruby's reply, looking up at the head of Blake's 55 ton Shadow Hawk.

In Ruby's opinion, the Shadow Hawk was a lot better suited for what Blake wanted to help Ruby with. Sporting jump jets, solid armor plating, a medium laser, both short and long range missile tubes, and an autocannon/5, Blake's mech was a veritable jack of all trades and widely considered one of the best medium class mechs on the market. It also had actual arms which, in Ruby's opinion, was a lot better suited for melee combat than her Raven and its noticeable lack of arms. Maybe that was why Yang piloted a Commando: so she can close on an enemy quickly and knock them on their rear end before they got a shot off. Yang would probably want to find a heavier mech for her fighting style sooner rather than later, but that is a different story.

"Well I'll try not to scratch the paint on your mech for what it's worth. I know you aren't a fan of this style of combat but at least have some fun with it. It isn't often we get moments to ourselves like this you know." Blake said with a small smirk on her face, shifting her mech into a readied position.

Ruby blushed a little at that. The duo have been dating for a little over a month or so at this point and how they got here is a long story involving Yang's lack of social fear, some hacking, a flower pot, and some assorted baked goods. Once that incident was past them though, Blake and Ruby were quite close, more so due to the fact that they were in the same lance. Steadying herself, Ruby shifted one of her mech's legs backwards and bent a little, showing Blake she was ready for whatever she had. She had a feeling Blake was going to work her down to the gears.

Then they were moving, and while Blake threw a couple of punches at Ruby, she mildly surprised to see the 30 ton bird in front of her perfectly evade her attacks. She soon realized that, despite Ruby's supposed lack of close combat prowess, she was really good at dodging, capable of avoiding many of the strikes Blake threw at her. After a few moments of this, Blake directed her Shadow Hawk to disengage, breaking away from the Raven she was attempting to hit.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you were downplaying your capabilities at point blank range." Blake said with a grin on her face.

"I never said that Yang didn't teach me anything." Ruby responded with a similar grin on her face.

"She did teach me how to _not_ get hit while in melee range. Certainly one of the better skills I have under my belt."

"Perhaps, but can you deal back what you managed to avoid getting dealt to you?" Blake challenged. Everything was going according to her plans. Blake was aware that one of the better ways of raising Ruby's confidence in something was to appeal to her spite, as living with Yang caused Ruby to respond to a challenge with something like...

"You think I was just going to let you throw hands at me and _not_ respond in kind? You would be a fool in that case Belladonna, so you better ready yourself!"

Yeah something like that. Bringing her mech's hands up, Blake decided to instigate Ruby a little further and made a "come at me" motion with her Shadow Hawk. This clearly did its job, as the Raven across from her started closing in fast. Blake saw the Raven lower its body as if to body check her Shadow Hawk and sidestepped the charge to avoid it. She turned around just in time to avoid a kick directed at her back and made to back up and make space. Clearly Ruby was having none of that as she chased the larger mech and went to shove her foot into the Shadow Hawk's midsection. Unfortunately for her Blake managed to sidestep again, but the worst part was that she found herself overextended and off balance. At this rate she was going to trip and hit the ground hard.

Blake saw this too and felt her heart leap into her throat and possibly into her skull. Acting quickly, Blake managed to get a hold of the falling Raven and prevent it and its pilot from self-inflicted damage. Evidently Ruby had a similar reaction, as Blake could hear her breathing heavily through the communication array of her mech. It took a moment for Blake to catch her breath before opening her mouth to speak.

"So... what did we learn today?" she asked the pilot of the mech in her Shadow Hawk's arms.

"Two things actually." Ruby answered. "One: don't... don't overextend a melee attack because... it can throw you off balance and... cause you to fall over." Clearly Ruby hadn't caught her breath yet.

"What is the second thing you learned during this exercise?" asked Blake with a hint of curiosity. Ruby then did something that Blake wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon. Blake felt Ruby's Raven gently rubbing its head against the chest of her Shadow Hawk like a cat looking for physical affection. Blake's eyes widened at this action, her face taking on a noticeably heavy blush. She knew this was basically the equivalent of if Ruby kissed her in the barracks of the company they were a part of.

"Always have someone be there to catch you if you fall. Bonus points if that someone is a person you really care about." came Ruby's reply, a gentle smile practically audible in the answer with a hint of smugness that suggested she knew exactly what she was doing both physically and in regards to Blake's emotional state.

_As much as I love this woman, I hope what she is doing doesn't scuff the paint on her mech or we will never hear the end of it_ Blake thought to herself. She decided to push that thought away and focus on the 30 ton mech she could imagine purring in her arms. Ruby really was something special and Blake considered herself lucky as hell to have such a wonderful individual in her life. As far as she was thinking, this training exercise was an absolute success. Sure there was room for improvement, but that would come in due time. The feeling of the mech in her arms and the conveyance of affection from its pilot was more important at the moment.

* * *

**I am a simple individual. I wanted to write big robot nuzzles, so now you get big robot nuzzles.**


End file.
